Out of every 1,000 mobile-phone-toting Americans, 750 use their phones in the bathroom. You don't have to pretend to be shocked. Chances are very good you're one of them.

Marketing agency 11mark chatted up 1,000 U.S. mobile phone users about their toilet and tech habits for its IT in the Toilet study.

Now that the secret is out, I have to wonder what everybody is up to in the powder room that's so important it can't wait. As it turns out, 67 percent are reading texts on the john, but 63 percent admit to answering a phone call. Even better, 41 percent initiated a phone call without waiting to exit the facilities first.

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The study also found that 13 percent of men have made a mobile purchase while in the bathroom, but it doesn't detail just what they were buying. I'm guessing more toilet paper, with hopes of a speedy delivery.

Android users are apparently the most likely to use their phones in the bathroom, with 87 percent fessing up. iPhone users are a little more fastidious, but 77 percent still can't keep their hands off their touch screens while attending to bathroom business.

We already know that 35 percent of tablet owners use their devices on the john. What I really have to wonder about is the crossover crowd that takes both their tablets and their smartphones into the water closet at the same time. What happens when you don't have a free hand? Never mind. Don't answer that.

Here's the kicker. The survey claims that 92 percent of respondents wash their hands after using the restroom, but only 14 percent wash their phones. Think about that next time you're snuggling your BlackBerry up to your cheek after an epic chat session in the lavatory.

About the author

Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET's Crave blog. When not wallowing in weird gadgets and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
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